#289 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday March 3)
Good morning,
THE IMPORTANCE OF PR
The Democrats and their agenda suffer from a communications problem. Even when proposing the most laudable of goals, they can’t articulate their objectives clearly and simply. They allow the opposition to define them with pejoratives and to characterize their goals. I’m not suggesting all plans emanating from the left are good. Some are irresponsible, too expensive or have been proven ineffective. And I’m not suggesting that the bills proposed don’t include pork (they do), exposing them to criticism. But there are, buried in the pages and pages of regulations, some fairly simple ideas that should garner universal approval, like “sending every kid to preschool” or “fixing bridges ready to collapse” or “encouraging conservation” or “providing access to basic medical care” or “maintaining our national parks.” These should be the headlines but, alas, they are not.
Ron Cappello, a friend in the public relations and communications business, asks “Can you comment on how bad Democrats are at messaging and are poor communicators? It’s gun safety. Not control. It’s investment and benefits. Not spending and deficits. It’s a half a loaf is better than no loaf. The level of being ham-handed knows no bounds.“
This is, of course, true. One is never going to get the far left from using emotionally-charged words and phrases that send middle-America up a tree. Words like “wealth redistribution,” “democratic socialism,” “white privilege,” “toxic male fragility,” and “income distribution,” used by the left, whether accurate in their description or not, are welcomed by the right as epithets to rally the base. The narrative becomes driven by the right and by FoxNews.
The Democrats have done a terrible job of selling some of most basic of their goals—goals that were often shared by the former Republican Party (not the current incarnation). President Reagan supported reasonable constraints on the manufacture and sale of guns. Richard Nixon presided over the widest expansion of the social safety net under any president. George W. Bush was passionate about his initiatives to address HIV/AIDS.
The ideas of gun safety, free markets (including the ability to negotiate drug prices with big pharma), narrowing the wealth gap, and ensuring access to healthcare are conflated by the right with concepts of a fictional “American story.” It is one of laissez-faire capitalism (one that didn’t exist in the writings of Adam Smith). It is a narrative that diminishes our collective interests and need for community-wide action, substituting a narrative that values what I call the “sovereign individual,” unconstrained by rules and regulations, over anything else. This notion has been inflated to allow each “sovereign individual” to make all decisions affecting his or her welfare through the singular prism of personal desire, without consideration for how these decisions might affect others.
This story is a riff on the model of the rugged individualistic American frontier ethic—plucky settlers who were independent and unconstrained. This is a myth. The story of the West is the story of fur traders and explorers seeking commercial opportunity and knowledge, followed by settlers interested in finding homes, arable land and a new start. Shortly after the influx of settlers, a nasty contingent of opportunists and criminals (some hellbent on genocide of the indigenous population and/or eradication of entire species in the pursuit of profit) followed. Highwaymen were rampant; lawlessness was expansive; gunplay was common. People were unsafe in their homes. The story of these rugged individualists evolving toward order doesn’t end in the “wild West.” The story continues as one in which those same individuals established societies with laws and law enforcement. It culminates in the growth of cities, the erection of fences, establishment of a civil society with civic institutions, and imposition of the rule of law (often harsh in its earliest forms), the enforcement of communal behaviors and the harnessing our “better angels.”
Those who settled in the west hungered for the “law and order”—to make their world safer. In harsh conditions, with threats all around, they learned to rely upon each other. It is not by accident that the term “neighborly” came into common use. These people also looked toward the future and the importance of educating their children, opening schoolhouses (to my knowledge, they didn’t vote on naming these schoolhouses or the nature of the curriculum). They established volunteer fire departments. These were not gun-toting extremists that were unaccountable for their actions. These are people that strove for the constraints of a freely elected government and rules to control against the actions of the individual in opposition to civil order. They understood that rules and the requirement that people adhere to community standards makes us free.
MESSAGING BETTER
Ron is right. The battle for definitions is losing. The Democrats need to do several things right now:
Adopt the words of past Republican leaders in defining some of their goals. Reagan thought gun safety and regulations were a must and granted limited amnesty to undocumented immigrants. George W. Bush spoke of “compassionate conservatism” and supported initiatives that would allow for incorporation of undocumented immigrants into our society. Use past history and past rhetoric to bring home that these legitimate policy objectives once were embraced by a kinder bi-partisan America.
Adopt some of the ideas of the right. Not everything coming from the other team is wrong. If there are initiatives to address Republican concerns regarding voting security that don’t disenfranchise voters, include them in a bill to ensure our elections are accessible and safe. Something is better than nothing. If there are ways to cut programs to fit within a more manageable budget, agree, make some difficult choices, and sell the bill as a compromise.
Use words that have clearer meaning and that don’t stoke the fire. Gun “control” might better be characterized as a fight for safety in schools and churches.
Condemn hatred from all sources. The modern (pre-Trump) Republican party paved the way for the Age of Reagan and its position as a partner in governance was the rejection of the John Birch Society and other extremists by the conservative leadership of the 1960s. Invoke the words of William F. Buckley in challenging the Republicans to do the same now. And acknowledge that hatred does, indeed, emanate from some on the left as well.
In the next bill—whatever it is—but hopefully a reimagined Build Back America bill, concede points to the Republicans. Say, “the right wants these three items. We think they’re laudable objectives and I’ve included them.” Now, let’s join together. Similarly, not all Republican ideas on election security are wrong. Pick a couple and put them in the voting rights bill and tout it as a bipartisan effort.
THE ECONOMY
I’ve always believed that presidents have little effect on the economy. I also think the Fed has less effect than we give it credit. I think forces greater than us govern much of what we see. Inflation is chief among these. There are good reasons why we have inflation, all interrelated. And while the Republicans will not agree, it isn’t Biden’s fault:
A lot of money was spent on the various stimulus packages, under both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden. More money in the system doesn’t help the value of the dollar or keep inflation in check.
The Trump tax breaks to the wealthy further exacerbated deficits, requiring more borrowing by the government and more printing of money.
The pandemic tempered spending. Now that we are further along—indeed largely past severe restrictions, people are spending. A lot. Increased demand means that prices rise.
The pandemic brought a supply side breakdown. With a shortage of supply, prices go up.
Fewer people are taking jobs in trucking and other logistics industries. With fewer people to perform these tasks, wages increase and, with them, prices.
And, of course, the oppression in Ukraine doesn’t help…
I’m no economist, but I’m betting that the supply/demand contributors to inflation will resolve themselves. Unfortunately, this won’t happen until after this November’s elections. Not good news for the Democrats or (depending upon the Republican candidates that are fielded in the general election), democracy.
Have a good day,
Glenn
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